Unshadowed Path
by See No Dum-Dums
Summary: How Rufus Shinra rose to be the man who never bled or cried. Sent away after being elected Vice President, he goes on an adventure to Nibelheim, apparently to help in the reactor investigation. Reformatted with a prologue. Based from BC but with variation
1. The Beginning

My grand attempt at an FF7 fanfic:

_(Dis)claimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7, Advent Children, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, nor all the myriad Shinra execs and employees, nor the Avalanche groupies (save one, I think), nor all the other names contained in this story. I only own a few OCs and my imagination._

* * *

He was not like his father. Heck. He wasn't even like anyone _at all_. 

When he was born, he did not even cry, it was said. Come to think of it, no one ever had seen him cry. But then, I guess it would not be fair if were I to continue without introducing him.

Shinra. It means "_god-net"_ – and in fact President Shinra was a self-styled god. He ruled over a commercial machine and developed it from a weapons manufacturing company into a formidable electric power conglomerate. He was then able to raise armies, sway the populace, and even usurp political power.

And it was all made possible by money.

In fact, it was President Shinra's money that won him a wife. (This was way back when Shinra was still developing weaponry.) She was beautiful, with long ebony tresses and smart eyes. Very smart eyes. She conceived a child (a son!) before she ventured to stab the most powerful man with a thin Wutai-fashioned knife. She – they had just discovered that she was a hired assassin – died of course; the Turks, Shinra's Black Hand, saw to that. After that sorry incident, the president declared war against Lord Godo of Wutai.

And so we turn to his son, named Rufus.

He was not like his father. Heck. He wasn't even like anyone _at all_.

* * *

(Author's Note)

_As stated in the summary, this story is based on BC, but (sorry for those who'd like to stick as much as possible to the canon events) I've introduced a number of changes with regards to the timeline and a bit of plot as well. For example: this story is set before Episode 2 of BC (wherein the Mako Cannon was captured by AVALANCHE), but here I have Sephiroth and the investigation team sulking in Nibelheim. Well, I'll mention no more for now, for the sake of spoiler-haters. So, my apologies for canon-lovers... but, well, this is fan_fiction _after all._

_Have fun!_


	2. The Vice President

And what did people have to say of him? Oh yes, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and all worldly possessions around him, but he never seemed happy with that; he never smiled. But then, he never cried as well. He was such a strange young man, Master Rufus was.

He was 17 when he became the Vice President of the Shinra Inc.

* * *

"Enter." 

The polished oak doors swung open. In came a tall young man, who was clad with a long white double-breasted jacket. He had well-groomed blond hair and smart blue eyes. Very smart eyes.

_Where have I seen this face before?_

_Ah… yes._

The handsome youth (oh yes, he was handsome) stood right below the crystal chandelier, stood right in front of his desk.

_Don't you dare look at me with that sneering gaze of yours, boy._

"You have been made Vice President, I believe," he said, softly, like a wolf circling a great bear, deciding which way to attack. _I believe,_ he sneered within himself_, as if I had not seen the board nominate you and elect you unanimously._

The other's eye glinted malevolently.

"A job worth nothing," he continued. "You are to depart for Junon immediately. From there you may either take the chopper and go west, or board the airship and head to Mideel."

"And why will I do that?" the young man snarled. And then, with as much contempt as he could muster, he added, "_Father?_"

"Because _I_ said so. When last I looked I was the president, not you. Besides, I don't want you in my way, doing something… _funny_."

A sardonic smile played on the other's lips. "Ah… the old argument," he sighed.

The father stopped acting wittily; his old round face was now businessman-like and serious. "Your policies will not avail the company. If you'd have your way, it wouldn't be long before SOLDIERs burn every village and town. And without the people to feed upon, this company would go bankrupt.

"Now please go before I lose patience."

And – at last! – the sight of the retreating white coat greeted President Shinra's eyes.

* * *

_Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!_

Rufus Shinra was about to board the helicopter when he drew a phone out from one of his jacket's pockets. He slid the receiver down, dialed a number, and waited.

_Beep._

"Gasov."

"Sir!"

"Withdraw 1,000,000 gil from my account here in Junon. I am leaving for Nibelheim."

The voice on the other line was hard-pressed to keep the surprise in his voice suppressed. "1,000,000, Sir?!" the man called Gasov repeated.

"Yes. Let's just say I want to give a large donation to my little friends."

With that, Rufus Shinra climbed inside the chopper, which soon flew over the dark seas separating Junon from the west.


	3. Encounters

_Yey! Thanks, blueravenchick and Teyke! Hope you'd enjoy this as much as I conceived this whole stuff!_

_And more reviews are welcome. Criticism is also welcome, provided that it is not loaded with undue insults and/or swear words. Thanks!_

_

* * *

_

_Beep._

"Blaze, do you copy?"

"Yes, Raven Leader."

"Operation Breakwing proceeding as planned. Crow is approaching. Coordinates are –"

"Yes, yes, I already know."

"Headstrong as usual, Blaze."

"But I've never failed before, have I?"

"Fire at will, then."

"Roger that, Raven Leader."

_Beep._

"Don't you fail on me, baby."

The rocket launcher glittered with the blood-red sun's light in response.

* * *

"Sir – why are we heading for Nibelheim, Sir?" 

Rufus Shinra slowly turned his head to face the pilot: his ID said his age was eighteen, which meant that he was a year older than the new Vice President. But by the way he posed his question, he sounded like an overeager eight-year-old.

Perhaps it was his first time to carry a Shinra executive (and the president's son at that!) in his chopper. But no matter.

_He will learn how to address a superior,_ thought Rufus.

"Do not bother me with your inquiries. I have many problems to deal with, and your impertinence does not help in the least."

"Y–y–yes, Sir!"

Rufus Shinra leaned back on the uncomfortable black leather backseat, then propped his chin against his closed fist. His smart blue eyes narrowed; his well-defined eyebrows furrowed. The malfunctioning of the Nibelheim reactor, the monster rampage... it was all unprecedented as far as Shinra Inc. was concerned. Fearing that the terrorist group, AVALANCHE, was behind this, the company sent Sephiroth – the legendary SOLDIER who helped Shinra to win the war against Wutai – as well as Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class (and two Shinra troopers whose names did not matter) to investigate. Perhaps, if he, Vice President Rufus Shinra, could...

"What the –?!"

A blurred image propelled itself from an unidentified location, and it was approaching the chopper at a very high speed. Rufus' smart blue eyes widened. He knew that sight.

And apparently, so did the pilot.

A rocket.

"Sir!"

* * *

"Ah… so this is your handsome son, President Shinra!" 

It was three years ago. The President held an extravagant banquet at his casa in Costa del Sol, and all his friends – as well all the executives except Hojo and Tuesti – were present: Heidegger was helping himself to more tequila; Palmer was surreptitiously packing the stuffed turkey; Scarlet was caressing the chest of the richest bachelor around; and one of the dignitaries, the head of the bank (Shinra-affiliated, of course) in Junon, was speaking to the President himself.

"Handsome? Pwah!" roared the President; his rounded face was flustered red with too much wine. "Call him – hic! – handsome, if you will. But to me he looks like a – hic! – an unpleasant spoiled brat with absolutely no – hic! – marrow in his bones. Why, I've never seen a – hic! – more weak runt than him! What'd he do if he was no goddamn rich Shinra, eh? What, boy?" he spat, turning his gaze at the young Rufus.

* * *

Wow, so he _is_ such a cutie! Tee-hee!" 

"So that's really _him?_"

"Of course, silly. Though, thank goodness, he doesn't look like his father!"

"Amanda!"

"What? Oh! He's coming to his senses. Look!"

He opened his eyes. _Focus, _he told his eyes – his vision was hazy, recognizing only a distorted white orb set against a dark background. _Focus._

It was a light bulb attached to a dark-green roof.

_Focus._

He looked about him. He was lying on a soft white-sheet bed. And his torso was bare. And two girls – the one wearing a turquoise bathing suit seemed to be extremely frisky – were ogling at him. Rufus Shinra sat up with sudden motion. "Where am I?" he demanded.

"Ah! Young master Shinra," spoke a male voice behind the two girls. Rufus hated being addressed so. "You are currently in Costa del Sol, and more specifically, in my inn. Of course, this is poor lodging compared to your casa yonder" – he pointed at the view outside being offered by the window – "but, given your present status…"

"It was lucky that you weren't seriously hurt – oh! – _Sir_," added the older girl, the one who was not fawning over him.

"Yup!" piped in the younger one; she was hard-put into suppressing her blushing and giggling.

"It seemed that your pilot knew what he was doing, Sir. Even with the chopper heavily damaged, he somehow managed to soften the impact of the crash," continued the inn-keeper.

"But he didn't survive," commented the silly girl, pouting her lips for what she had probably thought a dramatic effect.

Rufus was starting to get annoyed. Fortunately the door was open, and he could catch a glimpse of the bar outside the quarters. Seated on one of the stools and drinking a crystal-clear liquid which very much looked like gin was a tall, ebony-haired woman attired in a Kevlar vest over a white long-sleeved shirt and heavy black pants as well as a pair of what seemed to be combat boots. Although her bangs cover a third of her face, the remaining two-thirds showed a beautiful (and somehow befitting) masculinity: she had thin lips, a not-so-prominent nose, and smart dark brown eyes.

Such smart eyes…

"Who's that woman there?" Rufus immediately asked in spite of himself.

The silly girl looked stunned. How could he have missed her charms?

"Oho!" exclaimed the inn-keeper in equally great surprise; he never heard that President Shinra's son was keen on women. (But then, he had never heard much about him.) "That's Ysselle over there. She comes here every now and then. A traveler, see. But apart from that I have no more sure facts to tell you." He seemed to have forgotten to address Rufus as 'Sir.' "Though people say she's a mighty skilled hunter and gunman – or gunwoman, if you're gender-conscious…"

Ysselle. _Ysselle. Interesting._

* * *

"The chopper crashed, Sir?" 

Rufus Shinra was fit to move about after three days; the inn-keeper said that he could leave by the tenth (which would come the day after this). He was now in the Shinra Casa, and he was talking to his right-hand man on the phone, making arrangements for his departure.

"Yes, Gasov. Send another chopper at once."

"But Sir –" the man called Gasov hesitated "– all the choppers are away. The Turks used them all to hunt down AVALANCHE."

"Well, send a car, a buggy, anything."

"No land transport can get through Mt. Corel, Sir; it is too steep." Gasov paused for a while, apparently thinking. Then he continued, "I'll contact Junon Airport and see if there are any more planes available, Sir."

But –

Three years ago. Costa del Sol. The Shinra Casa. A banquet.

_What'd he do if he was no goddamn rich Shinra, eh? What, boy?"_

"Never mind, Gasov. I shall go forth by foot."


	4. Ascending Mt Corel

_Nice question, kittykitty. And in fact, I have thought of that some time ago. It was a debate between (__E-sell) or (I-sell). But since "I-sell" sounds "classier" to me (it kinda reminds me of_ ice_ as well), I chose the latter._

* * *

(Perhaps going forth alone by foot was not the best idea after all.)

Rufus Shinra, Vice President of the almighty Shinra Electric Power Company, the sole son and heir of President Shinra, had decided to force his way westward, assuming that he was well-provisioned and well-armed (his double-barreled shotgun, _Agamemnon_, had been fully loaded and with more shots to spare), only to encounter the treachery of the seemingly idyllic plains. Monsters of all sorts – some winding and snakelike, some gargantuan in size – harassed him all throughout his trek, and he had only but managed to escape the encounters. Then, by the third day, his supplies ran out. His phone's battery was already empty.

He had not expected this!

_What'd he do if he was no goddamn rich Shinra, eh? What, boy?_

But he had to go on – all the way to Nibelheim.

And so he reached Mt. Corel on the fourth afternoon.

* * *

He was gaunt and fatigued when he came under Mt. Corel's shadows. His coat was stained with thick cakes of dirt and blood; his would-have-been sleek blond hair was ragged, disheveled. He was in such a sorry state.

_Too bad. He would have been very handsome if he weren't so haggard-looking. _

She smirked. She then drew two pistols from the holsters on her thick leather belt.

"Seems like pretty boy can't take care of himself," she muttered to her silver weapons, her companions in the wild.

* * *

Mt. Corel was much more formidable than what it had seemed on the world maps. It was as if the mountain had tough mountain crags for its bones and rough, jagged stones for its skin. Every step was grueling (and each cost him a trickle of blood as the rocks wound his feet), and yet it seemed that the peak, let alone the other side of the mountain, was still too far for him to reach.

But he had to make it. He climbed on, step by step, straining to grasp the bright sunset shining through the peak –

SLASH!

A fast streak of blue and brown darted across him, piercing his left arm. Taken by surprise, Rufus spun around for his attacker. But before he could aim _Agamemnon_ at whatever it was, his assailant, a hawk-like being, dived at him one more time. He tasted his own salty blood on his lips; he had barely managed to dodge and save his face from a full attack.

Rufus shot wildly, but to no avail: it was almost as if the creature had Haste cast upon itself. And then, before he could act to counter it, the enemy hurled itself in what seemed to be a deadly Lightning-based dive attack –

BANG! BANG!

Shots rang out of nowhere. Or so it seemed; the bullets appeared to have come from the left, then to the right, then overhead – but Rufus' eyes could not register anything but a black blur swirling this way and that, engaged in a lethal dance with the bird of prey.

_Unbelievable._

The creature, who had become the hunted, decided to take down the weakest along with it. It charged itself with electricity as it prepared to continue the Lightning-based dive attack that it was about to do earlier to the Vice President…

…The black haze was directly in front of him…

The bird of prey was skewered by two well-aimed bullets: one blasted its head; another impaled its heart.

It was over. Just like that, it was over.

"It's called Needle Kiss, if you'd wanna know."

In place of the blur there stood instead a young woman with long night-black hair, attired in a Kevlar vest over a white long-sleeved shirt and heavy black pants. She was also wearing black leather gloves and combat boots. Two silver pistols were in her hands: one seemed to be an old Western revolver; the other looked like a standard modern one, if only with more elegant finish. She had a drawling cowboy voice.

"You're – Ysselle, I assume?" Rufus spoke in a cool, quiet voice. He had to keep composure even after a serious attack; he was Vice President, after all.

"Didn't know my name got that far." The famed gunwoman turned around to face him. She was sporting a lazy, complacent (and rather cheeky) smile. Her porcelain skin, cherry red but thin lips, and narrow, shrewd eyes might pass her off as a Wutaian had her tone not been irreparably Corelian. "What about you, pretty boy? What's _your _name?"

"Rufus."

"Rufus…?" Her smart eyes were narrowing further, as if straining to see the answer through his bright blue eyes.

Rufus made an involuntary grimace as he added, "…Shinra."

But there was no surprise on the woman's face.

"I see," she said, more to herself. "And what is Shinra's little boy doing here?"

"None of your –"

_Argh! _

An acute pain stung his left arm; looking at it, Rufus saw that it was bleeding profusely. He jerked his left arm to his back; no one had yet seen him bleed, and he intended things to remain that way.

"– business –"

He suddenly felt himself collapse on his knees.

The gunwoman, Ysselle, eyed him curiously. "Aftereffect of the Needle Kiss' attacks," she diagnosed, switching into a more businesslike tone. "Electricity-based, as you've noticed, and too much shock does get into the system… the heart…"

She touched him on his left shoulder. Her hands suddenly glowed white, and Rufus felt a cool sensation spreading into his body. The bright light died down after a few seconds. He felt lighter, and his wounds were almost closed, the pain almost gone.

"Best I could do," she explained. "I'm not good with Materia, and I've got nothing like Cure2. I would have used a potion, but due to your immediate situation –"

"I'm not… weak," Rufus muttered through gritted teeth.

The sun was already sinking below the horizon.

"Your adventure with the little birdie says otherwise." But there was no contempt in her eyes, and the smile on her lips was not a sneer. "By your starved look, I'm guessing you're ill-provisioned too. Let's camp here for a while."


	5. Huntress

_Kittykitty: Heheh. Ol' Rufus would have to do better than say his name to impress this gal. (Though I don't think Rufus thinks that mentioning "Shinra" would be a nice shot.) And yeah, I also think it's nice that Ysselle doesn't make him look like a total imbecile. ...Although she does call him names like "pretty boy" or "darling" a lot._

* * *

Navy blue skies. Cold mountain crags. A campfire. And…

"Roasted Needle Kiss on the menu."

As it turned out that Vice President Shinra could not cook as well, it had been up to the huntress to provide dinner: she had thrust a stake upon their dead foe, had built a makeshift rack, had hung the bird over it, had slowly grilled the meat over the fire (which she had also started – and without magic), and was now holding out a slightly charred leg to Rufus, who took it greedily and began devouring it without a word.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, suppressing a fit of laughter. "Hold your chocobos, pretty boy! Seems like you haven't eaten for years!"

At that Rufus gagged. Mustering what dignity he could, he answered, "I had a long trip."

Ysselle glanced once again at his form: his soiled white coat, his dirtied face…

"Hmm. And you managed to get through it alive…" she absentmindedly commented, nodding. She completed the idea in her mind: _…somehow._

…His shotgun…

Shotgun? Interesting.

She picked up the firearm lying beside the man slumped against the reddish-brown rocks and studied it. More than three feet in length, 12-bore, full choke, and double-barreled, the shotgun was more or less standard issue (she actually expected something fancier from Shinra's heir), but, well, it could be pretty lethal in the right hands. She tossed the weapon to its owner, who caught it awkwardly.

"Nice 'un," she remarked, nodding towards the long gun.

"_Agamemnon_," Rufus uttered silently.

"Aga-wha–?"

* * *

Agamemnon was the proudest king of the Greeks. It was his desire to make Mycenae, his kingdom, the greatest power among all the lands under the heavens. Yet one nation, Troy, was not under his overlordship, and that vexed him utterly. So when his brother Menelaus lost his wife to the Trojans, King Agamemnon lost no time in declaring war on Troy. He gathered a grand fleet of a thousand ships to sail against Troy and raze it to the ground. But one problem stood between him and his march to glory: the winds were not in his favor, and the ships could not press on. A diviner told him that he could only appease the weather by sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia, a young and innocent maiden, to the gods. Desperate to launch a massive attack against Troy at once, he had his own child offered up onto an altar and slain. And so, with the winds calming down and the gods promising him victory, Agamemnon went to the far-famed Trojan War.

* * *

After explaining the name of his shotgun at length, Rufus Shinra studied the huntress from head to toe. She was a hardy fighter; her victory over the Needle's Kiss proved that. She was an excellent markswoman. She was also experienced when it came to Materia and magic. And she knew to keep herself alive in the wild. Perhaps…?

He shook the thought away. _No. I am not weak. I do not need help._

Another voice, a soft but sly one, inside him countered, "Ah… really, now. You could not even defend yourself against a single bird."

_I am not weak._

"Merely telling that to yourself will not make you strong. You need guidance."

_I am NOT weak!_

"Oh, but your father has a different opinion. What would he say had he seen you this afternoon? Admit it – you need help; or you can pretend to be strong and stay fragile forever."

"Ysselle."

"What, darling?" Narrow eyes with black pupils met his gaze. Such sharp eyes…

"Can… can you… teach–?"

"You're such a big macho boy, aren't you?" she quipped.

She drew her two silver guns.

She whirled those with her long, deft fingers.

She pointed those at his head.

BANG! BANG!

Two bullets made deep dents on the rough mountain rock immediately behind him.

"Hmmm… either you're pretty brave or pretty stupid." Ysselle shot a curious expression at Rufus Shinra, who did not swerve aside; it was more of a calculating look. "I like that." She then lowered one of her two silver pistols to his eye level: it was the old revolver. "This is _Western,_" she said. She then showed the other – the elegant modern handgun – then continued, "_Unshadowed Path_, my personal favorite. Pretty lovely, ain't she? Designed her myself.

"Consider them teachers from now on. Welcome to the team."

* * *

Ysselle woke him up (or, more exactly, brusquely lifted the long coat he had used as a blanket) early the next day.

"Rise up, sweetie," she began in a cheery, gentle, and rather cutesy manner. And in a more serious (and slightly menacing) tone, she added, "you've got a Survival 101 crash course. Right now."

Still half-asleep, Rufus mumbled, "Breakfast."

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You gotta earn your bread, big boy. I'll shoot you on three. One."

Earn his bread? Outrageous proposition. He was Vice President, after all.

"Two."

Shoot, did she say? His blue eyes jerked open.

"Thr–"

Rufus Shinra, Vice President of Shinra Inc., drew himself to his full height as quickly and yet stately as he could. "I am up," he snarled.

"Good. Your gun."

She tossed _Agamemnon _to him. Rufus barely caught it. Déjà vu.

"Stance," she lazily ordered.

With one hand, Rufus raised _Agamemnon_ to his shoulder level faced the row of small stones Ysselle had set for target practice.

Upon seeing him do so, the huntress went over and, with all her strength, jabbed the grip of _Unshadowed Path _to his gun arm. It hurt. "That won't do. The recoil will cost you a turn. Use both hands," she snapped.

But Rufus was adamant in saying, "No."

Her eyes glinted with a dangerous black fire. "Both hands. Now." Her tone was more silent, yet a hundredfold more deadly.

He did as he was commanded. He rested the shotgun's heel on his shoulder, gripped the firearm's fore-end with his left hand, unlocked the trigger, and prepared to fire with his right

Ysselle then swung her pistol against his right thigh. "This foot forward," she ordered.

Rufus did so.

"Aim."

He directed the barrel's front sight to the largest stone, which stood at the rightmost end of the row of targets.

"Fire."

He pulled the trigger. And then he felt a most curious experience – whereas before he had always thrown backwards after firing, now he was fixed on the ground. The backward thrust he felt instead on his shoulder – and as the shotgun was well-rested upon it, most of the recoil merely dissolved.

And he was able to blast the stone into smithereens.

"Stay in that stance. You can only opt not to do so once you've gained enough experience," taught the gunwoman. "Now, time for you to learn a little hunting…"


	6. Descending Mt Corel

_Whoops. Late update. Sorry. First Semester Finals._

* * *

Good, good. He was learning. In fact, "pretty boy" _could now _actually take care of himself, as Ysselle, the huntress, noted to herself. True, he was defeating only puny Search Crowns and Cocatolises (and yes, Needle Kisses) – but, hey, at least he was learning. Perhaps it was time to leave Mt. Corel for good and head for the railway station to Corel Village.

* * *

"A Mako reactor?" 

At his companion's exclamation, Rufus Shinra gazed at the structure being built. Oh, yes. It was indeed a reactor-to-be: Shinra workers were coming in and out of the building, some pushing carts, and some operating hulking machines to piece together and reinforce the steel framework. And there, in the midst of it all, supervising the construction of the reactor, was the red-dressed blonde, Scarlet.

"Faster! Faster!" Scarlet was screaming maniacally at one of the workers. "We have to keep with schedule, lazy, spineless incompetents! Faster! Kya ha ha!"

Ysselle shot Rufus a quizzical – and slightly exasperated – look. "Geez… Your daddy can't leave a single stone unturned, can he, sweetie?" she drawled in an annoyed voice.

"Hmph," he answered. "I am not the president. Do not ask me."

"Well, let's get outta this place. I don't like them reactors."

Ysselle led the way, following the downward tracks, until they arrived at an old railroad bridge, which Shinra had re-commissioned to deliver construction materials to the reactor. Rufus made to push forward immediately, but a long arm stopped him.

"You lost your mind?" she snapped at her charge. "You gotta be more careful than that. That's one old rail you're gonna cross, big boy."

She began to trek her way through the bridge slowly, carefully, one foot at a time. After a few steps, a portion of the rails collapsed. She turned back to him, gave him an "I-told-you-so expression", and beckoned him to follow.

At length (and after more collapsing tracks) the railroad led downward to ground level. They pressed on. However –

GRAAAAARGH!!!!

The two quickly turned back at the source of the strange sound (or was it a roar?). What they saw was a large, heavily-built red humanoid armed with a heavy sword. At such a sight Rufus involuntarily flinched. He glanced at his companion, and was not reassured when he saw her face twitch as well.

"That thing…" she gasped. "That's not… endemic …here!"

Rufus raised _Agamemnon _and took aim – but Ysselle pulled him away instead.

"That one's beyond us!" she screamed at him. "Sometimes you've got to RUN!"

Run they did. They sprinted forward with as much haste as they could, bypassing a small booth, and the gunwoman pausing every now and then in an attempt to stall the advancing beast.

"No use!" she cried, as if it was the Vice President who suggested firing in the first place. "The bullets only kept on bouncing –!"

"Tch." Rufus gritted his teeth.

Dead end. The bridge was up. There was no way forward.

"We have to get the bridge down! Look! The switch must be in there!" he exclaimed, pointing at the booth, which was now behind the incoming giant.

Oh, yes. The booth! How could she have forgotten?

"No good. Unless…" Ysselle closed her eyes for a moment, clenching her jaw. "Unless… yes. Only way.

"Stay here," she ordered. "I'll head for the booth."

"That will mean confronting the beast."

"Can't be avoided. I'll exchange a few shots, wind my way in, and pull the switch. Then you run across the bridge as quick as you can."

She sounded so tense. Even the Corelian drawl seemed to be gone in her tone.

"I will stay," Rufus replied in defiance, raising his shotgun once again.

She drew _Unshadowed Path_, her best gun, and aimed it at him. "Now's not the time to be cheeky! You may be Shinra's little princeling, but I don't care! You can't have your way this time! So don't argue with me! This is not your fight!"

The beast had already caught up with them, raising its large sword, when the Vice President answered.

"Hmph. Fine."

"Good."

With that, she aimed both her pistols to the beast and began shooting.

* * *

GRAAAAARGH!!!! 

The beast roared again. It was clumsy, but it swung its sword with such force that even the very wind its attack generated was enough to send Ysselle reeling. After taking a few seconds to regain her composure, she began a zigzagging attack, darting from left to right to left, dodging the brute's blade, trying to head for the booth.

But the bullets were not affecting the enemy in any way.

_Darn_, she thought. _Must be the Big Guard ability._

That's it! Physical attacks wouldn't work – but magic…! Swiftly rolling to safety as the enemy tried to cleave her horizontally into two, she cried "Bolt2!"

It seemed to have worked; a surge of lightning stunned the creature, giving her time to stand up, run, and dive for the switch. She pulled the lever.

The bridge swung downwards.

But Rufus Shinra (_Damn! He's being stubborn again?!_) was still immobile.

"YOU MORON! RUN!"

But a gigantic fist appeared out of nowhere and brought itself down against her. The impact flung her away like a rag doll, and she crashed against the mountain walls.

* * *

"!!!" 

She fell down with a sickening thud. She was severely battered. The sharp rocks scratched her face with long angry gashes. She limply hung against the crags, not unlike an abandoned marionette. Although he could not see it, he was sure her body was covered with many dark blue bruises – such a blow would naturally do that to the beast's opponent; yes, even a SOLDIER. And her blood was dripping from her lips, her eyes.

Now was his chance. He _had_ to run across the bridge.

_Now!_

The red beast, a Wolfmeister, lifted its blade – to kill.

She was still unconscious.

_Run! Now!_

But he could hear someone laughing. There, in his head, laughing, saying, "Why, you're such a coward! A weakling – and a coward, too!"

It sounded like…

_RUN!!!_

..his father…

"AAAARGH!!!"

He lifted _Agamemnon _one more time.

* * *

BANG! 

_Huh?_

BANG!

_Gunshots…_

SWISH! THUD!

_Battle? Wasn't the battle… over?_

And she had successfully brought the bridge down, right?

_But…_

BANG!

She opened a bloody eye. And she saw…

_Oh no…!_

Rufus Shinra, Vice President of the Shinra Electric Power Company, was shooting the red giant with his double-barreled shotgun.

Slowly, grimacing in pain intolerable, she drew a single bullet from her pocket. This bullet was different from standard-issue ones: it was longer, thinner, and shone night-black against the crimson sun.

She had no other choice – she had been saving this, (it was her secret weapon, so to speak) but she had no other choice…

She loaded the single bullet into her favorite pistol, _Unshadowed Path…_

She cocked the gun…

She took aim…

The beast had come close to the Vice President, and both were now engaged in a close-range fight. Rufus could not fight hand-to-hand – and most certainly not with this one!

Aim…

She aimed for the giant's head…

* * *

Rufus was doomed. He knew it. He knew: the beast was now preparing for an Atomic Ray attack. It was charging for one final blow… 

And then, a flash of dark light.

BANG! GRRRRAAGH!

It sounded more like a roar than anything else.

But it was not from the Wolfmeister. Where did that come from?

The Wolfmeister came crashing down with such great force. It seemed that it was skewered by a giant spear.

But it was not a spear. It was a bullet.

An _unusual_ bullet.

As the monstrosity sank to its knees, he caught Ysselle's bloody profile behind it. She was holding _Unshadowed Path_ as high as she could, granted her injury. And then, she fell.

_Damn!_

He rushed to her side and took her Restore Materia. He was not a magic caster, really, but given the situation…

"Cure!"

_What?!_ Why wasn't it working?! He tried again.

"Cure!"

She was still a bloody heap, bruised and tattered and battered.

"Cure, damnit! Cure!"

Ysselle opened one bleary eye.

"You… fool…" she groaned. "You… needn't to… Think I'm… as…stupid as… you, pretty… boy?"

Her Corelian tone was back. And she began healing by herself. Slowly, yes, but she was healing all by herself.

_She must have used Regen on herself even before the fight_, Rufus told himself. How could he have been so stupid!?

"Then you will be alright?" he inquired tersely.

"No… duh…"

And she began to stand up.

"Let's …go," she said. "There are… some Bombs… ahead, if I… remember… correctly. But I think… we'll manage."

…

_What was a Wolfmeister doing here?_ He wondered. Shinra Inc. never set their new technological gizmos loose without a reason.

_And what kind of attack, in the name of the Planet, did Ysselle just launch earlier?_

* * *

After some time… 

"Here we are," she exhaled cheerfully, even though she was still clutching a stitch at her ribcage. "The ropeway station."

At last. They made it.

"So this is where we part ways," she continued. "I'll go no further. So take care of yourself, honey."

Rufus Shinra managed a smirk. "I am grateful," he declared, rather too pompously. The other giggled at that.

"Well, you should be," she agreed. "Normally, I'd charge you (for I don't teach people Survival 101 just for the heck of it, y'know), but you're such a cutie, I'll pass. "Where are you heading for, anyway?" she asked as an afterthought.

He answered "none of your business" when she made a similar question during their first official meeting in Mt. Corel. But this time he decided to be a little more… mysterious.

"Nibelheim."

"What?! Why on earth – !? Ah… nevermind," she sighed.

The Vice President had already boarded the train, and she had no intention of going after him just to know the answer, right?

Wrong.

But first, there was work to do...


	7. Playing With Fire

He was standing, just standing, slightly leaning on the car railings, reviewing the landscape rushing past him.

Mount Corel was now but a faraway isle of tall rock, left far behind. The ropeway would lead the train all the way to Corel Village. Of course he, Rufus Shinra, knew that. He did not need coaching to only actually _reach_ the area.

Well, he had to concede that the gunwoman was indeed a great help in scaling Mt. Corel. She did not really need to, but Ysselle taught him how to hold out on his own without any reluctance. She was far from being gentle, true, but she did not make a mockery out of him when (Rufus Shinra's hands balled into tight fists upon admitting this to himself) he was defeated by the mountain's malice. _And_ she opted to risk her own safety to fend off the Wolfmeister…

Rufus Shinra shook his head. _Humans are such fools,_ he mused inside his head._ Risking oneself for another is most unwise._

_Ah… but _you _did your part as well,_ a cunning voice at the back of his mind answered. _You knew it was pointless – and dangerous – yet you fought the Wolfmeister._

_Because I am _not _a coward! _

_But risking oneself for another's sake is unwise, right?_

He pounded the railings with such force that a low-pitch _gong_ reverberated throughout the length of the steel banister. "Enough!" he snarled. He then told the back of his head, _We have work to do. At Nibelheim._

At length, however, another thought surfaced into his mind: the Wolfmeister. That was a Shinra unit; Scarlet and the Weapons Development Department had given rise to it as a defense measure against AVALANCHE's raids. But what _was_ it doing in Mt. Corel?

The answer came quickly.

_The Huge Materia._

Oh yes. His father had extracted a large chunk of Materia some time ago – there were four of them, as far as Rufus was concerned.

_So Father thought of storing one in the reactors? And one _in_ the soon-to-be reactor in Mt. Corel? _

Sneering lightly to himself, the Vice President of Shinra Inc. turned to return inside the train car. He was disappointed.

"How predic–"

BOOM!!!

"!!!"

He hastily spun around, searching for the source of the distant sound. It was an explosion, of course, and he was sure of it; he had heard one too many before. But where –?

"Back at the mountain…"

* * *

It was the last day of Corel Village. 

"N-n-no! I swear it wasn't us! We never supported AVALANCHE! We ever –"

A Shinra trooper cut the village spokesperson short by plunging a broad blade through the old man. Excuses, excuses. And, well, it was Heidegger's orders, anyway: Do not listen to excuses. Have no pity. Raze the village. Leave none alive.

"NOOOOOOO!"

"AAAAAARGH!"

"But we gave our consent to build the reactor, remember?! We are inno---AAAAAAARGH!!!"

Oh yes. They needed a scapegoat. Wouldn't want the world to know that AVALANCHE was holding out against the almighty Shinra Inc., eh?

Yet the captain of the trooper battalion held his hand up high, signaling the grunts to stop the carnage.

Amid the blazing inferno, a young man wearing an immaculately white trench coat slowly, calmly, regally approached the leader, who, unsure on whether to take down the strange apparition, decided to challenge the man first. "Who are you?!" he called out. "Reveal yourself!"

"Aaah, Captain," the young man began softly in response. "You cannot tell who I am? That is just a shame."

"!!!" _Could it be –? _"V-v-vice P-president R-Rufus Shinra, S-sir?" the captain trembled, hastily giving a salute. "W-w-what are y-you doing h-here, s-sir?"

…

"None of your business."

Spineless fools. They could bully a mass of unarmed civilians, but not a single man whose surname happened to be "Shinra". Was that all these grunts could do? Pathetic.

"What is this bonfire all about, Captain?" he asked lazily.

"O-o-orders, sir," the other answered tensely. "F-from S-S-Scarlet and H-Heidegger, s-sir. W-we heard r-r-reports that o-one of the civilians w-was responsible for – for – for the b-bombing the Mt. C-Corel reactor, s-sir!"

Fools. "There _were_ personnel in the reactor, Captain. How could these unarmed, unskilled _hoi polloi _manage to blast a heavily guarded area?"

No response. Rufus Shinra slowly shook his head in disappointment and disgust. "What? All you can give me are playground fires and whines and stammers? Hmph. If this is how useless you people are, I cannot even trust you to provide me a buggy, Captain."

"A-a buggy, s-sir?"

_Once I become President, I'll rid the company of such imbeciles. _

"…"

"Oh! A buggy!" The Captain's face was twitching; perhaps he was not treated like this – like an ignorant child! – for the longest time. "You!" he bellowed at one of the grunts. "Get the VP a buggy! Now, or it'll cost you your rank and wages! Now!"

"S-sir? Oh! Sir, yes, S-sir!

Incompetents. All of them incompetents.

* * *

Rufus Shinra pushed southwest, passing the river with the help of the 'buggy'.

* * *

"I say, that's him alright. In the buggy." 

A smirk.

"Must be somethin', that Prez's kid. Blaze ain't no failed before."

A chuckle.

"Ah, I guess Blaze is going out of form. All that dilly-dallying…"

A sigh.

"Blaze rusty an' all? We can't have tha' – Blaze's one o' the best damn Ravens we have!"

A growl.

"Well, we go to do this. Raven Leader wants him down."

A rifle.

"Righty."

* * *

CRASH! 

The windows of the 'buggy' shattered into a million pieces. Rufus felt a small object graze against his head, narrowly missing him.

But it was not a glass shard. It was a bullet.

"!!!"

As reflex, he crouched down, grasped his shotgun, and rolled out of the vehicle. It was a good thing that he did so, for a second later a projectile impacted itself against the 'buggy' which immediately exploded.

_What the – ?!_

Rufus quickly held _Agamemnon_ with his two hands, loaded it, cocked it then spun wildly, searching for his attackers. One was already advancing towards him, two scimitars in hand. He opened fire.

The enemy was able to dodge the shot. He swung one of the blades to chop the Vice President's head.

Rufus Shinra swerved his head just in time and landed a fast kick at the other's stomach. He then aimed for the enemy's head… for the kill…

BANG!

The enemy's bullet struck true this time; it lodged itself within Rufus' supporting arm. Rufus winced slightly in pain as he let that arm fall, making the shotgun unstable, missing the blade-wielder's head and hitting his shoulder instead.

_Blast! I am open!_

Deciding that he could not fight at close quarters, Rufus chose to flee. After all, Ysselle did teach him to run when outgunned... but he forced himself not think about his encounter with her now – he had to focus. He ran as swiftly as he could, but not before firing a Parthian shot at his foe, whose shoulder had healed and had followed in pursuit a second after him.

BANG! BANG!

The other was no longer using his sniper scope but was firing liberally instead. The blonde young Vice President swung right then left, avoiding the gunfire. Two curved blades missed him, swishing past his head. And then there were more gunshots.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Come on, ya chicken! Daddy's boy gonna run like a coward, eh?" the blade-wielder sneered.

_You –!!!_

Rufus could not risk turning around to counterattack; that would cost him a tempo. So he fired back randomly instead. After three shots he heard a low groan – the closest pursuer was down on one leg. But the other was gaining on him.

"Hold still and we will make your death easier," the other called out.

"Ah, but who says _I'm _going to die?" Rufus managed to reply softly – yet menacingly. He halted, letting the foe overtake him, and then fired. He managed to blast the rifle out of his hand. But Rufus knew that the other (who had somehow healed himself) was gaining on them. He continued to run until a sight on the horizon greeted his eyes:

Cosmo Canyon.

He _had_ to reach Cosmo Canyon. There he might just be safe.

But – the enemy had already caught up with him.

* * *

_Beep._

"Chase. Laurent."

The two replied to the voice: "Yes, Raven Leader?"

"Abort. Cease the attack and head into HQ immediately."

What?! Just when they almost had their man?

"But sir –!"

"We got him on th' run! We're darn close –!"

"There has been a change of plans. Enough said."

"R-r-roger, Raven Leader!"

_Beep._

"Tch." The sniper clenched his teeth.

The other was utterly perplexed.

"Wacahthink 'bout that, eh?"

The sniper shook his head.

"I don't know. But let us just pull out."

And so, under the cover of gathering dusk, they faded away, leaving a perplexed Vice President.

* * *

_They are gone?_

They were gone. Just as easily as they had appeared, they were gone.

Rufus Shinra wondered what that was all about.


	8. Conspiracies

_Whahahahahaha! I'm gonna try and finish this ASAP! Thanks for all the reviews!_

_And now things are gonna get a little more nasty._

_And no, I don't own Fuhito, Elfe, and Shears. They're merely... ehem... my guests from FF7: Before Crisis._

* * *

The reader might wonder why Chase and Laurent suddenly abandoned their attack when in fact they were so close – so close! – from achieving their goal. Perhaps this phone call, made a while before the pullback, can explain the mystery.

* * *

_Beep._

"Corel reactor goes bye-bye, Raven Leader."

"Nice job as usual, Blaze."

"Hah. Piece of cake."

"Although… I heard that the Vice President is still alive."

"…"

And all the complacence was gone.

"Really, now, Blaze. How come you failed?"

That voice was dripping with venom.

"H-he survived the c-crash, sir. Seems the pilot knew how to maneuver. Saved the pretty boy's life."

"And you didn't finish the job, Blaze? That's a first. Now, do you have something to say?"

"H-he seemed to b-be heading somewhere, sir."

"And?"

"Well, won't you wanna know where he's going? It might be something vital to our operations."

Some of the confidence and cleverness in that voice was back. Blaze continued:

"…And, 's'far as I've heard, General Sephiroth is in Nibelheim, where the pretty boy seems to be heading. Really now… what _is_ he thinking?"

"…Hmm. You have a point, Blaze. Change of plans, then. Track him. I'll have Chase and Laurent withdraw."

"Finally. Glad you see things _my_ way." And, in a playful tone, she concluded, "Ta-tah."

_Beep._

A shrewd smirk lit up the beautifully masculine features of Ysselle Blaze's face.

_This will be fun._

* * *

Perched atop the high reddish rocks, Cosmo Canyon was the home of the Study of Planet Life, a philosophy which flourished under the guidance of old Bugenhagen, an ex-Shinra employee. Naturally, the Cosmo Canyon would be the best nest for eco-terrorist organizations to spring, the people there having been enlightened to the evils Shinra Inc. perpetuated. And so did the area give birth to AVALANCHE some time ago, when Elfe, Shears, Fuhito, and some men gathered around the Cosmo Candle and swore to fight for the Planet. 

Of course Rufus Shinra knew all this. After all, he _was _the financial supporter of AVALANCHE.

* * *

No faces could be seen – everything was wrapped in shadow in their "hall", which was merely a shabby, drafty room in some obscure part of the settlement. Times were difficult, after all. The Turks were abroad, hunting down AVALANCHE, trying to crush them force against force. 

"Ah… so you have come," a cool, calm female voice sighed.

"Yes, Elfe," a cold male voice – that of Rufus Shinra – answered. "Have you received my latest gift?"

"Fufufu." A cunning, calculated voice came this time. "Oh yes. We're very… ah… grateful, sir Rufus."

"I'm glad you appreciate it, Fuhito."

"…"

"Shears doesn't seem so… ah… _enthusiastic_, however."

"Don't mind him," the cunning voice remarked. "Perhaps he's too busy with the operations against the Turks, eh?"

"Well, I am not that happy as well." The Vice President's voice had become ominous. "Two men attacked me earlier. Two men from AVALANCHE, it seems."

"?!" The female was startled at that. "I gave no orders to –"

"No you didn't, Miss Elfe." Fuhito cut her off. "Perhaps it's just a little misunderstanding. After all, you _are_ the Vice President of the enemy. Fufufu."

"Still," Elfe continued, "I bear responsibility for this. This will not happen again, I promise."

"Hmph. Good. Just remember that your target is my foolish old man, not I."

The shade of Rufus Shinra started to walk away from the "hall", back towards the light of day.

"Now, if you'll excuse me."

* * *

"But I thought you want _him _disposed, sir?" 

"Yes, you're right, Raven Leader. Indeed we no longer need Rufus' support. After all, all he wants is to have his dear daddy killed so that he could take his place."

"Thought he could manipulate us, eh?"

Fufufu…. But then, we already have our special army, the Ravens, so we no longer have to put up with him, technically. However – Blaze is right. We need to find out what he's planning."

"General Sephiroth…"

"This could spell a lot, you know. Fufufu."

"So we're letting him be?"

"For a while. For a while. Fufufu."

* * *

Rufus Shinra set out to leave Cosmo Canyon later in the afternoon. He had already brought the necessary supplies with him, and he was already ready to go. Nibelheim – oh, now… now he was near… 

"Hey! Going so soon, pretty boy?" someone called out to him in a lazy drawl.

_That voice!_

Rufus spun around, gazing back at the bonfire at the foot of the high rocks. Sure enough, Ysselle was there, sitting next to the flame, warming her hands.

"…You're here?"

A cheeky grin flashed across her pale face.

"Oooh, so you've missed me, huh?"

"…Hmph."

"Well, glad to know you're safe and sound," she breathed, then added in a cheery tone, "Marshmallows?"

_Marshmallows?!_

Ah, but there she was indeed, handing out a stack of cotton-white treats, offering it to him. Somehow, Ysselle and marshmallows did not go together.

"That's ridiculous."

At that she pretended to be very hurt. "That's mean!" she exclaimed, quickly standing up in an obviously fake outrage. "You could indulge sometimes, y'know. For offending me, you just have to let me come along with you."

"?!"

_What on the Planet is she thinking?_

"Come on! You gotta pay me back for your little hike back at Mt. Corel, too!" she persisted. "And don't you want some _company_, dear?"

"…I can manage."

"Hah. Heard them Nibel wolves are scary. And besides, I gotta go anyway, so I'll come with ya whether you like it or not."

"And where would that be?"

"Wherever you'll go, sweet," she answered, popping a marshmallow into her small mouth, smiling like crazy.

Rufus could not help but grin back. She was being… well… _funny_.

"I don't think so," he refused again, playing along.

And that, she pointed two silver pistols at him.

"Are you gonna let me join you the easy way or the hard way? 'Coz it seems adventures follow you all around – and being alone in the wild all the time's kinda boring, y'know."

_Fine._

"…Hmph. The easy way then. Just don't be a hindrance." Rufus turned around and began to walk northwards to Nibelheim.

"As if! I'm the one who _taught_ ya, pretty boy!" she countered, running after him, holstering her weapons.


	9. Might Makes Right

The next days found Rufus and Ysselle tackling Grand Horns and Golems in a rather uninteresting adventure.

"This," Ysselle began, decommissioning the robotic Golem with a well-aimed Bolt2 spell, "is officially boring."

"Hmph," Rufus replied, blasting a puny Skeeskee with a single shot. "I didn't invite you. You invited yourself."

"Oh yeah…" She paused for a while before continuing. "What are you going to do in Nibelheim, anyway? Doesn't look like an ideal vacation spot for Shinra's little boy, if you'd ask me."

Rufus Shinra merely smirked. "Just press on," he drawled.

As the two approached Nibelheim, the reddish earth gave way to a wide green sea of grass. This meant a colder day, but a warmer night – but the monsters were just as "boring" to deal with. No wonder Ysselle was getting agitated.

"For Bahamut's sake!" she exclaimed in annoyance. "I'm tired of these pipsqueaks! I'm going to raze Nibelheim if I find the end less than the means, really."

"…Right."

"What?!" she spat. "I'm beginning to regret my decision."

"As I have said," Rufus countered, beginning to be irate himself, "I did not put you into this–"

"Shut up."

"?"

Ysselle was never that rude before.

"What do you mean–?"

"Sssh!" She hissed, pointing far ahead. "Your people."

And true enough, two Turks were standing along the path to Nibelheim, one busy with his phone, the other polishing a pistol.

_Turks! Here?!_

They seemed to be waiting for something.

…_or someone._

Motioning Rufus to be quiet, Ysselle led the way stealthily, slowly advancing towards the town. However –

"Aaah, Vice President Rufus Shinra," one of the Turks breathed silkily upon seeing the two almost getting past them. "Veld says you might drop by here."

"In this backwater settlement? Heh… Dunno the Prez's son's that… um… well…" the other Turk finished, quite lamely.

"And look!" The other, spotting Ysselle, exclaimed in a show of delight. "A girl! Ho ho ho…"

Rufus' eye twitched at that. "Just let us pass," he ordered in a fed-up voice.

"Can't do," the first Turk replied, as smoothly as ever. "Veld's orders."

"Look." Rufus Shinra was losing patience now. "I am going to aid in the Nibelheim reactor investigation. And besides, I _am_ the Vice President, and I can overrule Veld."

"Can't do," the Turk repeated. "Veld's – _and the President's_ – orders."

"M-my father?!"

"Yep."

"Well, I'm sorry, darling," Ysselle addressed the Turk. "Pretty boy here wants to go to the freaking town, and go to the freaking town he will, whether you want it or not."

"Oh yeah, babe?" growled the other Turk, the one who was polishing his gun. "Says who?"

"Says 'em."

In one deft motion, Ysselle drew two guns from her holsters and aimed at the opposing man. _Western_ and _Unshadowed Path_ alike glittered silver.

But the Turks were swift to react as well. The Turk with the gun pulled back, flew back almost, cocked his pistol, and fired the first shot at the gunwoman. The other Turk quickly drew a long knife and swung it at the Vice President, who barely managed to dodge the attack. A second swing, however, forced Rufus to hastily throw his weight backward. And then came another slash. And another.

_Tch! I can hardly keep up!_

"Don't kill the VP! Just take him out!" the first Turk shouted.

"And the chick?"

"…Do as you wish."

* * *

_Ah, finally. A real battle._

Ysselle dodged the enemy's first shot with ease. But –

_What's _wrong_ with him?!_

Rufus Shinra was in dire straits. Chagrined at the pretty boy's incompetence, she spun around and fired _Western_ at the knife-wielding Turk.

The enemy was fast enough to avoid the bullet, but it _did_ give the Vice President time to compose himself.

However, that move cost the gunwoman a turn. The gunslinger Turk fired his gun and got her on the right shoulder.

* * *

The first thing Rufus did with his spare tempo was to put some distance between him and his opposing Turk. He raised his shotgun and fired at the enemy. 

But the enemy had cast Haste upon himself, had managed to evade Ysselle's – and Rufus' – shots, and was now behind the immaculately clad man.

"Hmmm. Great job. Veld would have been proud," Rufus jeered at the Turk behind him before spinning around and firing again at his adversary. The mere power of the _Agamemnon_ was enough to slightly throw the enemy off his guard.

"Heh. Not so bad yourself, sir," the Turk jibed back, rolling sideways and slashing at the blond Vice President's foot.

Rufus fell down just in time to witness a second bullet pierce Ysselle, this time through her left thigh.

* * *

_Damn! These Turks know their stuff!_

She stumbled, having only her right leg for support. She caught a glimpse of her partner… no, her _charge_… yes, _charge's_ the right term… of her _charge_ toppling down due to his enemy's well-placed attack.

"Looks like game over, babe." Her Turk sneered.

"Urgh…" Ysselle fell to her knees. She clutched her shoulder with her left hand; she had already dropped _Western_.

"And you're pretty and all." The Turk sighed. "What a waste – I'll have to blow your lovely face off. Too bad, no?"

At that her enemy raised his gun, undoubtedly going for the kill… for her head…

BANG!

* * *

_No!_

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

* * *

"Hah." 

At the last moment Ysselle jerked her head sideways. And her wounds, for some reason, were already healed. With her restored right arm, she held up her other gun, _Unshadowed Path_, took careful aim, and fired.

The opposing Turk dropped a second later, dead, his heart bleeding profusely.

"Guess who's going bye-bye, sunshine," she quipped.

* * *

In a spur of rage Rufus Shinra had been able to launch a fast kick at his foe's own long legs. Rising up now, his face livid with cold wrath, he reloaded the _Agamemnon_ and targeted his sprawled foe's head. 

The Turk was surprised at that. "I-I-I give up! S-sir? S-sir, n-n-no! I-i-it was j-just o-orders! No, no, NOOOO!"

And those were his last words.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Upon turning around he saw the gunwoman staring at him.

* * *

Her face was white. 

Her eyes were wide open.

Somehow, the feeling of delight in battle left her.

She was… shocked.

She couldn't believe it. That blond man had just killed one of his own people. In cold blood. Sure, they tried to attack him, but not to kill…! And, what kind of man would take down a defenseless enemy, much more a comrade…!

As much as she hated the Shinra, Ysselle Blaze however felt some sort of pity for the dead Turk. And dread for her charge.

After all, she, unlike the Shinra, was human.

* * *

"I see. You self-regenerated again. Excellent." 

Just how she did that again, he just didn't know. But it was not his concern.

Rufus Shinra's face was devoid of any emotion as he returned his gaze towards Nibelheim. In a nonchalant voice, he suggested, "Let us go."


	10. He Who Was The Best

_Hah! Hmmm… If I am correct in my reckoning, there are only 3 or 4 chapters (excluding this one and including the epilogue) to go! Now for it! Now for the last lap!_

_Oh, yeah. Thanks to all those who stuck with me all throughout the story, and especially to those who gave out reviews! Yippee!_

* * *

To any outsider, Nibelheim would probably seem another sleepy backwater town in the western continent. In fact, one wandering traveler could accurately summarize the town by saying that it's a circle of sooty, shabby houses around a derelict well. And the people? Hah. They were merely simple-minded folk who only cared about pressing on with their monotonous lives. 

But… that wandering traveler would only be _half-_correct.

Why? Because Nibelheim housed the Shinra Mansion, which in turn had housed scientists and Turks – and was now housing the Great General, a First Class SOLDIER, and two Shinra troopers.

Vice President Rufus Shinra smirked to himself. Who would have thought that his best hope for triumph was actually sulking in this sleepy backwater town of Nibelheim?

* * *

"_This_ is it, sweetie?" 

Ysselle could not help but bark at him when they reached the settlement. She had been expecting something a lot more… grandiose.

But then again, there was the rumor silently being passed throughout the western continent: General Sephiroth, the unsurpassed "hero" of Shinra Inc., _was_ in Nibelheim.

_Sure, it would drive fanboys and fangirls throughout Gaia crazy… but Rufus Shinra…?_

"What? Were you expecting a grand parade?" the blond replied silkily to her scathing comment. "I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am merely going to aid in the Nibelheim reactor investigation."

_Oh, really now?_

"You wish to join us?" he added. "There would be monsters up at Mt. Nibel, and General Sephiroth is with the investigation team."

Rufus' lips were curling upwards at his own jest. It was common knowledge that many women find the silver-haired SOLDIER dreamy.

"You company people are boring," Ysselle drawled. "You think I'd wanna tag along with you pretty boys? Well, you're wrong."

Like she would want to come with them. That might only make them more cautious. She had a plan.

"Hmph. Suit yourself. I shall be off, then"

At that Rufus Shinra began to walk leisurely towards a big mansion a little tucked away in the town's northern section. But after a few paces, he spoke again.

"I shall be at the mansion yonder, in case you are wanting." He turned around. "The town is all yours."

And then, he left.

…

Come to think of it, Ysselle Blaze didn't know much about the Vice President prior to their meeting at Mt. Corel – save that he was an enemy. So it had been a hard job for her. Hah. She even had to use up all the skill and cunning she could muster only to provide herself with a sketch of the man with the white overcoat. And now, here was what she had been able to deduce:

1. Rufus Shinra would stop at nothing in order to achieve his ends. Kinda like King Agamemnon of the Trojan War of legend, from whom his shotgun was named. It was surprising how he pulled himself all the way into Nibelheim when he was poorly provisioned, poorly armed, and poorly skilled. Yet his willpower prevailed. And – this Ysselle found disturbing – he would even dare to shed an ally's blood (such as the Turk earlier) if he deemed it necessary for success.

2. Rufus Shinra cared not for others. The clash against the Turks just proved that. And he was a bloody _Shinra_ for Odin's sake. Those soulless knaves were sucking the Planet's life – how could they be expected to be clement to the hoi polloi?

3. Rufus Shinra seemed to be trying to prove something… to himself? Maybe... but… he seemed pretty agitated, hard-pressed, desperate even. For what? Honor? Like a Shinra could ever gain that. Money? He had a lot of that already. Power? Too simple for him – he was a complex character. No, "power" was just a part of the package. …Must be something more.

4. Rufus Shinra was …sad? Ysselle wondered if "sad" was the right word. "Wanting" was perhaps more accurate. Hah. It showed in his blue eyes. Money and power obviously couldn't provide everything.

5. No, no, erase number 2… Perhaps Rufus Shinra _was capable_ of caring for others. The nutcase tried to help her fight the red giant in Mt. Corel, right? He needn't have to, since Ravens like her could heal themselves (but for some reason she regenerated slower), but still… Or maybe he was just a foolhardy moron as stated in number 3, but…

_What the hell?!_

Ysselle shook her head, which was driving her crazy. She was thinking too much. She had some work to do.

She looked around. Nope, the villagers were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they were at home, busy with their little Shinra-manipulated lives. Good.

She drew out one of those strange ebony bullets. She loaded _Unshadowed Path_ with it.

A scarlet orb glowed brightly against the silver of the pistol.

She fired.

BANG!

A speeding black blur seemed to have emerged from the gun itself. This blur halted after reaching a certain distance – and roared.

GRRARGH!

It was black, with a panther's long legs, sharp claws, a formidable demeanor, and shining green eyes.

"Follow him, Kurai. Then tell me what you'd see, what you'd hear."

The panther roared in consent.

"Good."

* * *

And there he was. Sulking at the basement, poring over old records. 

"Hmph. General Sephiroth."

No response. Rufus Shinra decided to continue nonetheless.

"Oh yes. You have served Shinra very well during the Wutai Wars. I was very young then, true, but I have heard of your exploits–"

"I didn't know you were one of those petty people who idolize me, young Master Shinra," Sephiroth interrupted in a cold, but eerily smooth voice.

It need not to be said that Rufus took this interjection – and the title "young Master Shinra" – less than kindly. Yet he continued as if his speech had not been cut.

"-And you are considered a hero. Hero, General. Hero. But surely a hero has the people's interests at heart? And–"

"Get to your point. Don't waste my time."

It was the _second_ time the silver-haired SOLDIER cut him, the Vice President, off! …But Rufus could not afford to lose his temper. He had to succeed.

Get to the point he would, then.

"Fight for AVALANCHE. Fight against the Shinra. You are on the wrong side, General. Shinra Inc. has done nothing but ruin people's lives – and, as the Study of Planet Life teaches, ruin the Planet as well. But by fighting alongside Elfe you could create a new, shining future. Think about it. Hero. The people would benefit–"

Sephiroth chuckled softly at Rufus' speech.

"Benefit? None but you would benefit from that, I am sure, for by fighting Shinra and killing your father I am merely but a tool for you to ascend to his throne and make everything ten times worse." And then, more to himself, he continued. "Humans. Always ready to betray their friends just to succeed. Your kind disgusts me."

"?!"

What on earth was Sephiroth saying?!

"Once upon a time, humans have betrayed the Cetra, didn't you know? Turned against them… Left them to fend for themselves… Spineless fools."

Rufus' calm, condescending visage was wearing out now.

"Is this a no?! And… fool?! _You_ are the fool, Sephiroth! You are the fool, moping in this dungeon, researching about a rundown reactor and reviewing textbook-grade history!" His best bet was just there, reading all the time! He _needed_ his help! In his frustration Rufus began pounding the desk behind which sat the great Sephiroth. "Who _cares_ about that damned past?! We need to move _now!_ Now, in the _present!_"

"Aah… But no move in the present could be effective if you know not the past, young master," Sephiroth answered, as cool and collected as ever. And then he added airily in a pretend-offhand tone, "Oh, that reminds me. Do you know of _your_ own history, Rufus Shinra?"

"?!"

What did his history have to do with everything?!

"Did you ever know your mother?"

His mother–?!

"As you have said, I was in the Wutai Wars. Hmmm… Lord Godo Kisaragi told me some _interesting_ things back then.

"Now," Sephiroth concluded, "you may leave. I am very busy."

Rufus Shinra thus strode his way back to the upper level in fury – but not before he spotted a pair of gleaming emerald gems.

* * *

The panther, Kurai, returned later, bearing the news. 

_What?! He asked _Sephiroth _to join _AVALANCHE_?!?! What does this mean?!_

* * *

Rufus Shinra was in a sour mood when he left the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim, a fact which Ysselle, who had been hanging around for a couple of hours there, quickly noticed. 

"Well, that was a fast _investigation_, big boy," she drawled, yawning.

She looked funny while yawning. It almost caused Rufus to grin in amusement. Almost.

"It all concluded by itself. Everything will be alright soon," he responded curtly.

"Um-hmm. But you seem, ah, pissed."

"None of your business."

"Whatever you say, sunshine," she commented in a sing-song voice, giggling.

But a second later, the sounds of a helicopter's rotating rotors drowned Ysselle's sounds of merriment, which had blown into a full-scale laugh.

"To Wutai, Gasov," Rufus instructed the pilot, a tall man with curly dark brown hair and sharp eyes.

At the mention of Wutai, though, he thought he saw the gunwoman's eyes widen – in surprise? Ah, but maybe he was wrong. Ysselle in fact looked thrilled. _Too thrilled…_

"I will not ask you to come with me, you know," Rufus said as he climbed into the chopper.

Ysselle folded her arms. "Oh yeah? And why not?"

"…I know you'd be coming anyway. With head as stubborn as yours."

He held out a hand (which she accepted, of course) and pulled her in. And then, he managed a grin.

See? Ysselle was not the only good judge of character.

* * *

_OMG! What a random ending… anyway, check out the next chapters soon! Yes. I'm nearing completion. Wahahahaha! And yeah. Reviews are loved. Flames are tolerated. Swearwords are ignored._

_Thanks for sticking through!_

_Chapter 11: A Tale of Knives_

_Chapter 12: At Glory's End_

_Chapter 13: Paths to Take_


	11. A Tale of Knives

_Whoa! Now THIS is my longest chapter ever!_

_Thanks for all the reviews! They help me go on! Wahahahahaha! -Hands over lovely ice cream to reviewers- Thanks for the continued support!_

_And now I hope the climax's building up. Heh. Now... just one more scene at the -BLEEP BLEEP! Must not make spoiler-haters angry!-_

_Oh, oh! And the first swearword in this fic! Wow. Geez, Ysselle. You DO have to take advantage of the T rating._

_Ysselle: Like duh. Gotta take what you can take, big boy._

_Rufus: Hmph. I shall take over the world, then._

_Ysselle: Now THAT'S too much. You couldn't even handle a little bird in Mt. Corel._

_Rufus: -sighs- That was then._

_...So, yeah. Two chappies left! I think._

* * *

As I have stated early in the opening, Rufus Shinra was not like anyone. After all, none among us could boast of being born an heir to the lordship of the whole world. But besides that, he was still way different. How so? 

Rufus Shinra did not anything about his mother.

Of course he never assumed that he had sprung directly from his father – and even if it were true, he would not accept it, for there was never great love between them. However, he had no idea regarding his own mother. He was not aware of her personality, capabilities, or appearance – in fact, he was not even sure if she was dead or alive. It was therefore natural that he desired to confront Lord Godo after General Sephiroth gave out such dark hints below the Shinra mansion.

_Aah… But no move in the present could be effective if you know not the past, young master._

_Hmph_.

* * *

_Wutai. What on Gaia prompted him to go into Wutai? Sephiroth? _

_And why did he try to coerce Sephiroth into defecting to AVALANCHE?_

_Is there a link between Rufus and AVALANCHE?_

_If so, what is a Shinra doing in AVALANCHE? And… why is Fuhito bent on having him killed?_

_Argh! Too many questions!_

Ysselle Blaze, staring at the looming continent of Wutai, shook her head, then sighed.

"…Motion sickness?"

Hah.

"No, silly boy," she scoffed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Usually this is what people look like when they're _thinking_."

"Now really… what was I thinking?" Rufus breathed in a slightly dramatic overtone. "The gunwoman getting airsick?"

"Ha-ha…"

"Tell me," he began, changing the topic. "Do you remember your mother?"

Her mother–?!

Why on the Planet did he decide to bring up such a topic?

"M-my… m-mother?" She stammered, momentarily losing her Corelian accent.

"Yes. The woman who bore you, in case you do not know what a mother is."

"'Course I remember."

_And that's why it hurts. Because I remember._

"Can you tell me something about her?"

_Of all people to ask… a Shinra!_

"Sure I can, baby."

Ysselle breathed deeply before continuing.

"She was pretty. Darn pretty. Long jet-black hair, dark chocolate eyes, nice lips, porcelain skin… y'know. Get the picture? Hmm. Yeah. Real pretty. And kind. Anyways, I… um… never saw her happy. Nope. Not even a smile. Why? Dunno, but it's got something to do with her dead sis – my aunt, if you will; only, I never knew her. So yeah. Always a melancholy dearie, my mom was. Hah. Died when I was four. Three years after her sis. People say grief took the living daylights off her. Bullshit if there was another reason. "

Ysselle failed to hide the bitterness in her tone – something the blond in white had been able to notice, perhaps.

"This aunt of yours… how did _she_ die?"

_Oho! So you asking that? Your people murdered her, Shinra boy._

But she couldn't say _that_, right?

"_Someone_ killed her. Fuckers. And don't ask me who killed her; I was just four then, damn it."

"…Hmph. _C'est la vie._"

_That's life, huh? Well, that sucks. Not everyone's lucky as you._

"…Yeah, guess it is."

Ysselle withdrew herself and gazed once more through the chopper's window, surveying the dark blue seas and the jagged mountains to the west. She would not speak again for the rest of the trip.

* * *

At length the chopper arrived at Wutai, the once-proud settlement to the utmost west. Rufus alighted right after the helicopter had landed just outside the city, his spotless snow-white overcoat flapping due to the winds the dying rotors produced. 

"Stay here," he ordered to his man, Gasov.

And then Ysselle descended, her dark hair flying with the western breeze.

"So we're here. In Wutai…" she exhaled in a quiet voice.

"Are you coming with me?"

Of course he knew what her answer would be…

"Ha-ha. What's the point of bringing me here if I don't get to go somewhere?"

…or a variation of it.

"…I did not ask you to come, did I?"

With that settled, he leisurely made his way through the streets of the western city.

Strangely, however, Ysselle seemed to be agitated. "Hurry up!" she hissed.

"…And why?"

She began looking around her. Upon doing the same, Rufus saw a couple of Wutaian bystanders staring – no, scowling – at them.

"Are you _nuts?!?_" she continued through gritted teeth. "_You're Rufus Shinra!_ Shinra!"

"…And so?"

"These people would like to get their hands on your neck!" She answered loudly, possibly thinking that he, Vice President Rufus Shinra, was not aware of that. (In truth, he _was_ aware.) "By Odin, Ruffy! They still haven't forgotten the War! Sure they're disarmed and deprived of Materia, but–!"

"…Hmph. I would like to see these cowards try." He loaded his shotgun, not caring whether the people saw him or not – better if they did! "They submitted to my _father_. I reckon they will _tremble_ before me."

Hah. He was better than his father. Far better. Had he just not proven that? He had scaled a mountain, passed – literally and figuratively, for he had survived an attack thrice – through fire, and he had talked face-to-face with the great General Sephiroth.

"You and your Shinra blood!" Ysselle wrung her hands in defeat. "I don't even know why you're _here_, of all forsaken locations, in the first place!"

Which was true. Kurai had not been clear on that part.

"Oh, I fancy a chat with Lord Godo Kisaragi," Rufus replied offhandedly.

"WHAT?!" Ysselle exclaimed, her hands balling into fists. "You want to die _so darn badly_, don't you, little boy?!" She drew her two guns. "Here, lemme help."

"Godo shall listen to what I have to ask," he answered with a tone of finality. "This matter is pressing… Aah. Here it is. The Pagoda."

…

Rufus and Ysselle entered the Pagoda. For a giant tower easily overlooking Wutai, it was empty – there were only a few Wutaian ink paintings adorning the walls, and the wooden floor was in fact bare. And there were almost no people, too. In fact, there was only one little boy inside the ground floor.

"M-miss Toushin?!" that boy cried aloud upon seeing the pair of newcomers.

"Kutsueki," Ysselle said in response, acknowledging him. She had lost her wilderness drawl.

"W-who's that?!" The boy shouted in alarm upon seeing Rufus. "I-is t-that… _him?!_ The… Shinra?!"

At Ysselle's quick nod the boy began to shake his fists. "Down with the Shinra!" he growled, sounding like the AVALANCHE troopers shouting their battle cry.

_Hmph. Let him try._

Rufus raised _Agamemnon_ at the boy. Pity… he seemed barely above ten years of age.

The boy's slit-like Wutaian eyes grew wide in shock at first, but then he quickly gritted his teeth and resolved to fight… to whatever end.

"Kutsueki! Back down!" Ysselle barked at the boy. Her Corelian accent seemed to have gone completely, replaced by something… Wutaian? "He's beyond you."

"B-but, M-m-miss Toushin! Gorki and the others must know, at least!"

"Enough!" She commanded in a stern voice Rufus Shinra had never heard before – not even in Mt. Corel. "The Vice President is here for a diplomatic talk with Lord Godo. Be cordial."

_Perhaps Ysselle had some influence here,_ thought Rufus, for the child lowered his fist and settled down, managing only a growl – like an angry dog that could do nothing after being spanked by its master.

"Go call Lord Godo."

And the child was off, dashing his way up the Pagoda.

"You should not have stopped him," the man in white articulated softly, gazing coldly at the child's climbing back. "I reckon I need to practice my aim, anyway."

Ysselle's eyes flashed dangerously in answer.

"But what's done is done. Hmph." Surveying the gunwoman's face, he asked, "Who is Miss Toushin?"

"They call me that here," she uttered in a low voice. "It means 'Sword Blade'."

_Fitting name for a cold knife._

"You've been here before." It was not a question exactly.

She confirmed it. "…Yes."

_And your accent's gone, I noticed._

Footsteps. Footsteps from the upper levels, descending.

And then, a rich, deep voice.

"So you have come, young Rufus Shinra."

Vice President and gunwoman alike looked up. Lord Godo Kisaragi of Wutai, garbed in a simple yet elegant kimono, had been barely level with them before he addressed his former foe's son. But now he stood right in front of them (with the little boy, Kutsueki, behind him). He was tall, and dignified. A lord of men indeed.

"You have newly been elected Vice President, I heard. Congratulations."

_You do not sound like you mean it._

"…Lord Godo," was all Rufus Shinra said, nodding his head with as much stateliness he could.

The ruler of Wutai spoke again, now motioning towards the gunwoman. "And Miss Toushin… What do they call you outside, again? Ah… _Ysselle_. Good. Always a pleasure to see you."

"…" Ysselle avoided his gaze.

"Well, Kutsueki says you desire to talk with me, young Shinra," Lord Godo resumed. "Diplomatic talk? And what would the mighty Shinra Inc. want with a little resort town such as Wutai, I wonder?"

Oh yes… It was a challenge. A subtle one.

_Hmph. _

"This has nothing to do with war, I assure you," Rufus declared. "Tell me about my mother."

A spasm of – what was that? Shock? Doubt? Fear? – came across Godo Kisaragi's face. Clearly he had not been expecting that.

"Kutsueki, leave us," he ordered the boy. "Ysselle, you may join us. Master Shinra, upstairs?"

The boy tried to object. "But, my lord–"

"Do as I say."

And so the boy left the Pagoda. Lord Godo then led the two foreigners up to his level, four more floors above the ground. The level was simply furnished with mats such as those Wutaians are accustomed to kneeling (instead of sitting) as well as a low table. Lord Godo then sat on the mat behind the low table (the one farthest from the stairs and nearest to the wall) and motioned the two to do the same.

"So, your mother." Lord Godo repeated. "What about her?"

"Everything. General Sephiroth hinted that you know her," Rufus replied.

"So the great warrior… I see." Lord Godo was nodding.

"Now, tell me all you know. Time is pressing, and I sadly do not possess patience."

"Very well, then." Godo Kisaragi then glanced at the ink paintings on his wall. Depicted on the scrolls were three seasons: winter, spring, and summer.

"It all began with three sisters…"

* * *

Back when Wutai was still strong, the young Lord Godo's best ninja had three daughters. These were their names: Fuyuki, named after the Winter; Haruko, named after the Spring; Kyuuka, named after the Summer. They were all beautiful, but all agreed that the youngest, Kyuuka, was the loveliest with her graceful ebony tresses and smart sapphire eyes – eyes that were considered very unusual, and therefore very prized, in Wutai. As the ninja excelled in every sport of war, and having no male son to teach his fine moves, he instructed his daughters instead in the art of espionage and assassination. Fuyuki became best with the shuriken. Haruko specialized at the strange secret weapons of Wutai: bladed fans, harpoons, poisoned darts, and the like. Kyuuka, however, felt at home with knives. 

And so time passed, and the three sisters bloomed so beautifully that they considered the father blessed by the Five Gods. Yet it was also the time when Shinra, the weapon-manufacturing company, began to challenge Wutai for supremacy in Gaia. Open war threatened to open until the President, Rufus' father, asked for a truce. In exchange for peace (and millions of gil), he had Kyuuka marry him.

Needless to say Wutai also feared Shinra – perhaps even more than Shinra fearing Wutai. So Lord Godo had his best ninja instruct Kyuuka to assassinate the President with a long, thin Wutaian knife: _Chishio_ – the Bloodknife.

But Kyuuka foolishly waited for a year or so. Why? Some in Wutai accused her of actually beginning to love the evil President. But in the end, Lord Godo as well as her father had been successful in coaxing her to attempt her mission. But she failed. Stories in Wutai said that it was because her scalding tears fell upon the sleeping form of the President, thus waking him up and discovering all her designs. So she ran, carrying her newborn son. But thus burdened, it had been easy for the Turks to track her. They killed her and took the child back to the President, who – grudgingly, seeing that he had no more children – had the boy named his heir.

And, in vengeance, President Shinra began the War.

* * *

"And that boy… he is kneeling next to me, listening to my Tale of Knives," Lord Godo spoke in conclusion, staring into Rufus' smart blue eyes. 

_Very smart blue eyes… they always say…_

Rufus was stunned. He – he couldn't believe it. It was a lie. It had to be.

…His cold, calm demeanor was breaking…

"You LIE!"

"I wish I were," Lord Godo uttered. "To think of Shinra's boy being of our blood… But it is true, unfortunately. Sephiroth seemed to think so, too. He it was who returned _Chishio_ to us."

And then Lord Godo held out a long thin Wutaian knife for Rufus to see. Its blade shone crimson. He thrust the hilt of the knife to the Vice President. "Yours now. None among us would take it; people say it's cursed."

And Rufus unwillingly took _Chishio_ and belted it.

"Sephiroth…" Lord Godo continued. "He hunted down the Turk who killed her after our chat. Wanted confirmation. And he got it, along with the blade." Then, he sighed. "Always delves deep, General Sephiroth does."

"You lie…"

But Rufus was merely repeating it, trying to find solace in it…

"Have you not wondered why your father dislikes you so much?"

So that was it… It was not because of his _ideas_. It was because of his _past_, after all…

"That's it. You have wasted my time," the Vice President snarled. "Let us go, Ysselle – Ysselle?"

Rufus turned around. But Ysselle was nowhere to be found.

"Where…?"

"Aaah… Ysselle Blaze left a while ago, while I was in the midst of my story," Lord Godo Kisaragi answered. "She knew it all anyway... although she did not YET know you were her aunt's son. You see, Miss Toushin, Ysselle, the huntswoman, is Mizuyuri Saya, Haruko's daughter by an Immanuel Blaze."

At that, without so much as a nod of farewell to the lord of Wutai, Rufus Shinra sprinted down, out of the accursed Pagoda, out of the accursed town. He _had_ to find Ysselle. He _had_ to hear her cheeky, confident voice saying it all wasn't true. That it was all a lie. That Godo and Sephiroth were mistaken. That his mother was not a Wutaian. That his mother's failure was the cause of the War. That Ysselle was not related to him.

But all he found was his man, dark-haired Gazov, glazed eyes open, throat cut wide.

And the chopper was gone.


	12. At Glory's End

_And now… At Glory's End. I'll let the chapter speak for itself._

…_And I hope this sets a good high point for the story._

_Oh, and thanks to Gunshot Romance for the BC background – and Rosalind's name!_

* * *

Two months later… 

"The hour has come."

There was a man standing haughtily atop the Mako Cannon in Junon. He was clad in an immaculately white overcoat. He was armed with a standard-issue shotgun. He had neatly-combed flaxen hair and smart – very smart – blue eyes.

And he was smirking.

Up on the Mako Cannon, his new throne, Rufus Shinra looked down upon the city of Junon. Chaos ensued below as AVALANCHE operatives seized the Cannon and aimed it at Midgar. Everything was laid out according to his wishes. Way earlier, Fuhito had made his way into the hotel, ready to shoot the President, Rufus' poor excuse of a father. In fact it was surprising that the rotund old man had survived the attacks hours before. But no matter. Even if he managed to slip past Fuhito's clutches, President Shinra would lose face upon witnessing his pride and joy – Midgar, the capital of his empire – collapse, with Shinra HQ crashing down.

But the Turks, the fools, were fighting his will – pointlessly. Rufus watched from afar as Reno led a small cohort of Shinra troopers against a large company of AVALANCHE members. It would be a vain charge; even if the Shinra troopers prevail, the Mako Cannon would already have been fired. Tseng, under Veld's promptings perhaps, "secretly" sent a new Turk, Rosalind, to sneak her way into the Cannon via the Underground. Hmph. Even _if_ she makes her way past the fail-safe security system (which, at Alert Level S, would attack anything) Shinra had installed below, she would have to deal with more AVALANCHE forces – and Elfe herself. Even the Turks were now helpless.

See? Resistance was futile.

Checkmate.

A wild fire blazed in Rufus Shinra's eyes. The world would soon be his… he only had to take it, and it would be–

"Rufus Shinra!"

Rufus hastily spun around to the source of the vehement exclamation.

"You… You are here, hmm?" he said softly upon seeing a pale gunwoman staring down at him determinedly. "Ysselle… yes. That is your name, right?"

She had with her a silver handgun, _Unshadowed Path_, and a strange new weapon, a long blade with a pistol as a handle. On the blade was carved a long flowing dragon roaring majestically – an emblem of Wutai. It was _True Western_, the first gunblade, which Ysselle herself had slowly, patiently forged and crafted a long time ago, when she still lived in Wutai, craving for revenge against the Shinra. And now, the new weapon would taste its first blood.

"So you're manipulating AVALANCHE," she snarled in her natural Wutaian voice. She gripped her weapons more tightly. "You planned all this all along."

The Vice President chuckled quietly. "Caught on, have you?" he remarked. "And no need to tell me who you are – I will tell you myself. You are a Raven, an elite AVALANCHE fighter, which means you have enhanced strength and powers of self-regeneration. Somewhat like SOLDIER, but not quite their caliber, sadly."

"H-how did you know?!" Ysselle, in spite of herself, asked out of surprise.

"Oh, let us just say I do my research," he answered, casually waving his free hand.

"You are deceived," she spat. "Fuhito's been plotting to kill you. He gave out orders to assassinate you. I was one of those dispatched."

"Really?" But there was no hint of astonishment in his voice, nor in his eyes. It was as if he had known – suspected, at least – that Fuhito wanted him out all along.

"Hah. Didn't even know we're related until I heard the full tale from Godo. But even so..."

Oh, so she was steeling herself, hmmm?

"And so you have come to do your mission?"

He fancied he saw Ysselle twitch before replying. "N-no," she denied. "I – I'm going to stop you! And AVALANCHE!"

"And why is that?" he inquired, very much like a teacher probing an erring student.

"Innocent people are going to die!" she cried out in objection. "You don't care sacrificing lives to obtain your goal, don't you?!"

"Not in the very least," he drawled. "If it is for the better good–"

"–By 'better good' you mean consolidating your power! You disgust me," she growled through gritted teeth. "And I hoped you'd be different from your father–"

"Do not dare SAY THAT!" Rufus shouted, anger now rising in him. "I am different from my father, thank you very much!"

"Not the way I see it," she pressed on. "You care for nothing but yourselves. Your paths may be different, but your ends are just the same. And now," she proclaimed emphatically, raising handgun and gunblade, "you two must meet your end."

"Oh, such big words," Rufus jeered, raising _Agamemnon _with his two hands. "But I have gotten a lot better these past two months."

"We'll see about that."

Her pistol, _Unshadowed Path_, began to glow bright scarlet. She fired.

Rufus Shinra easily dodged the bullet. However, he was not prepared for what came after – a fast black blur pounced upon him. Fortunately he was able to escape the full weight of the attack; only his left leg was injured, bleeding slightly. The black blur then retreated back towards Ysselle, roaring – _roaring?_

"Hah. Meet Kurai, my loyal companion in battle."

Rufus quickly studied the newly-arisen creature. It was a panther, with long limbs, sharp claws, and fiery green eyes.

"Oh… a Summon," he uttered, nodding. "No matter," he added. "It will not suffice to aid you against me."

At those words Rufus fired _Agamemnon_. The shot was so powerful that even though he was in a stable firing position, Rufus slid a couple of paces backward.

Hmph. Ysselle had no time to dodge.

But – Ysselle did not die. In fact, she had not been harmed at all. It was as if the shot had never been.

"?!"

Rufus fired again.

But with the same effect.

Adrenalin now coursing through him, frustration now mocking him, he fired yet again. And again. And again.

But still, nothing happened. Ysselle was still whole and well.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," she scoffed, smirking now. "Kurai can generate a barrier to protect its summoner. Now, my turn."

She shot with _True Western _and _Unshadowed Path_. As she was an excellent markswoman, and since the Mako Cannon offered little room for maneuvering, Rufus was hard-pressed to evade her salvos; bullets soon lodged their way into his limbs, his shoulders – and one even grazed his head.

But, just when it seemed that Ysselle would triumph, she stopped firing.

"There's no dignity in a long-range victory," she called out. "And besides, my blade has waited three years just to taste Shinra blood – it will not be denied. After all, they _do_ call me Toushin - the Sword Blade."

So she charged, firing her handgun while swinging her gunblade. Rufus dodged Ysselle's fire, cast a Cure spell on himself, and drew a long crimson knife, blocking _True Western_.

"Fool," he muttered, but enough for her to hear. "You think I still cannot fight close-quarters?"

"_Chishio_… the cursed bloodknife!"

Ysselle jumped back to gain momentum for another slash.

"My mother's knife," Rufus corrected, now charging against her in a stabbing fashion.

Ysselle parried the jab, spun around him, and directed another slash at his right leg. But he was able to draw back, and shot at her head – to no avail, for the panther Kurai's barrier still worked. Ysselle took his moment of inaction to commence another series of slashes and thrusts, almost taking the blond man off-guard; reduced to a defensive mode, he was barely able to block her attacks, much less begin a counterattack.

And so the fight drove furiously on – atop and below the city of Junon.

Reno's men had almost died out, and he was hugely outnumbered. But he fought on with such aggressive fervor…

Rosalind, the new Turk, struggled against Shinra's mechanized robots…

And Rufus Shinra was in dire straits.

But he could do nothing. Ysselle was faster than he was, and far more experienced. Although it was true that he was stronger, Kurai's barrier was only nullifying his attacks.

That's it! Kurai!

There was only one thing to do.

He lifted the _Agamemnon _with his one hand.

He blocked Ysselle's attacks with the other.

He took aim at Ysselle.

Ysselle swerved.

Perfect.

Rufus fired. A violent shot hurtled past Ysselle's head and hit Kurai's flanks. The panther roared in pain, writhing.

Ysselle's barrier was gone.

But the recoil was too strong. Rufus lost his stance and lost a tempo.

He had let his knife, _Chishio_, down.

"Wrong move, baby."

And _True Western_ pierced him through.

He fell down, flying backward a feet away from Ysselle.

"I _told_ you to never handle a shotgun with only one hand – except if you're already skilled enough," she sneered, loading a bullet into _Unshadowed Path_.

Urgh… _Agamemnon _was out of shots. He needed to reload, too.

"And you _missed_," she continued. Hmph. She didn't know that Kurai had been taken out. "Fatal error."

Rufus bided his time. If he were too slow or too fast, it would be his undoing. But, if at the right moment… The right target…

He secretly drew a bullet from his pockets…

She cocked her pistol. "And now–"

He readied himself…

She aimed for his head.

"–You die."

NOW!

With as much speed as he could desperately muster, Rufus loaded _Agamemnon_ and fired at once.

BANG!

BANG!

And then, silence.

At glory's end, there is silence. Only silence.

* * *

_Wahahahahah! Cliffhanger? Weeeheeee!_

_So keep on reading! Stay tuned! Nyahahaha!_

_(I'm so evil...)_

_Thanks to those who _did _stay tuned!_

_And next, the Epilogue: Paths to Take!_


	13. Paths to Take

At the last second, Ysselle was able to wheel around and, with her gunblade, slice _Agamemnon_ in half.

But it was too late. She had already been hit squarely at the chest.

And Rufus Shinra was now standing up, still alive.

"…Urgh…"

"And so it ends," he sighed.

"…Kurai… you… got… him?"

"Hmph. Yes, I did."

And Ysselle did the unthinkable: she smiled.

"Good… thinking. And… you hit… me where… I'm… vulnerable. …Well done."

But the expression on Rufus' face was unreadable. It was almost cold, blank – but it was different.

What was it?

"Even you could not regenerate that quickly. You will die."

Blood began to stream out of her mouth, crossing her now colorless skin like a red river gushing through the snow.

"…I… guess. So… you've… won. The world… is… yours."

But at what cost?

Hmph. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, had to sacrifice his daughter to be victorious.

_Sacrifices are crucial_.

_But... _

"And you lost. You failed in your mission. To kill me."

Even his smirk was different.

"Heh... Don't... rub it... in."

"I assumed that you would want vengeance for your mother's death."

"... Yeah. I... _hate_ Shinra... But... you're... my aunt's..."

"So your mind was torn in two? You are such a fool."

His eyes were twitching.

_You are... a fool._

"Shut... up."

But, at length, she spoke again. But her complexion was now drained of all blood, of all color.

"I've... found out... mother's ... other sister... in Junon... kids. Take... care... of... them."

Hmph. She could say that, even with death aproaching?

_Humans are such fools. They tend to think of others even though they are about to expire._

And then she thrust her favorite gun, _Unshadowed Path_, to his hand. "Take... it."

"?!"

"Your... gun's... busted... retard. How... are you... gonna... fight, hnh?"

Despite her failing strength, she was still grinning like crazy.

"Let it... guide... you... whatever... path... you take."

"...Path to take."

"Now... go... kill... your daddy... or Midgar... or something. Destiny... awaits."

_Destiny... awaits._

* * *

And so AVALANCHE, under Rufus Shinra's hidden guiding hand, seized the Mako Cannon. They aimed it at Midgar and prepared to fire, desiring to topple Shinra's mighty empire. 

Fuhito, on the other hand, was able to force his way into the hotel, and shot President Shinra. And then, he left, leaving the man for dead.

But even the best of plots could be undone.

President Shinra survived. Desparate, he turned to the one man who could save his empire from collapsing.

* * *

"That's as far as you go." 

Elfe turned around at once, fearing the worst. That voice...

"It can't be. You're..."

Elfe blocked the tall man's sudden attack - but the stranger's sword was very powerful...

Masamune...

"The Silver Haired SOLDIER - Sephiroth!"

---

Sephiroth single-handedly cleared the Mako Cannon's control room of AVALANCHE operatives. Elfe and AVALANCHE were forced to retreat.

And then, he returned his seclusion in Nibelheim, delving deep into the Jenova Project.

Soon, he would raze Nibelheim to the ground and storm his way into the Nibelheim reactor to join his Mother.

* * *

"Good work, everybody," Veld addressed his Turks, beaming. "You all did well. The President's still alive, we've protected Midgar." 

---

Soon Veld would find out that Elfe was actually his long-lost daughter, Felicia. He would resign from Shinra, and the company that he served so well would turn against him. But the Turks were to remain loyal to him.

And Shinra would also turn against them. President Shinra would order Scarlet and a legion of troopers to eliminate the Turks.

* * *

"He was a fool. And he said his plan would work. But not to worry. We'll get _him_ next time, Raven leader. Fufufu..." 

"Yes, sir!"

---

But Fuhito would ultimately fail to kill Rufus Shinra. He would be hindered by the very arm of the company Rufus tried to cripple: the Turks.

* * *

Five years later... 

Night fell upon Shinra HQ.

A man was riding in a helicopter. He had neat gold hair, and he was clad in an unblemished white suit. He was grasping a shotgun - it was about two feet long, and its handle seemed to be taken from a customized silver handgun.

His weapon was called _Destined_.

A black panther nudged his feet, mewing softly.

"Yes, Dark Nation," spoke the man. "Our hour has come." And then he ordered the pilot, "Leave me for a while. I have _issues_ to address. But come when I bid you to."

And the pilot answered: "Yes... Mr. _President_."

_Mr. President. Hmph. At last._

He was none other than Rufus Shinra, the dead President's only son, the man no one had seen bleed or cry.

_Destiny awaits._

* * *

But, back at that fateful day, when AVALANCHE seized the Mako Cannon... 

"Sir, she's recovering. Not that quickly, but, well..."

"Of course she's recovering. She's a Raven."

"...So, do we put this on _now_?"

"The Slave Crown? Of course. What, you'd want to put that when she's conscious? I've heard tales about her gun skills that would make you sick."

"...Right."

"Fuhito made this himself, of course."

"But..."

"Oh, it only forces her neurons to respond 100 percent to commands. No memory blackout or whatnot..."

"..Why...?"

"Oh, I dunno with them. Something about 'looking for the Goddess'... whatever that meant. Must be a new power scheme. Y'know, the 'Down with the Shinra!' ideas."

"...And since Blaze is our best huntress..."

"You got it."


	14. An Update

_There, finished!_

_HAH!_

_Oh... sorry, the ending's kinda random-looking... Oh well..._

_Hmmm, so, was it good? Okay? Lame?_

_Thanks for the support, all ye who hath read and done whatnot for this fic of mine!_

_(Ehem...)_

_Oh, and if you're interested..._

To be continued in

**A Hundred Arms**

(YES! I Already did it! I overcame laziness! ...Ehem...)


End file.
